A novelty search has revealed the existence of several patents having at least some remote similarity to the present invention. Each of these will be discussed in relation to its apparent pertinence to this invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,932 is directed to a "Bag Carrier With Closable Top." It incorporates two U-shaped frame members 16 and 18 of different widths and variously interconnected by permanent structures not only at their pivotal points, but at top and bottom as well. A flexible bag is intended to be disposed over the bite portions 56 and 58 interconnecting the legs and to rest upon the platform 38, which is of an extremely complex and costly structure for a device of this character. It includes two, differently sized and constructed portions attached to the frame legs and centrally pivoted for upward foldability. In general, that device, while intended for a flexible bag, as is the present invention, is more structurally complicated and costly than a device of this character should be. The frame members are also of solid bar materials, making it heavier and more susceptible to bending than the present invention, which utilizes tubular members.
The Portable Hamper of U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,543, similar to the above-described device, is intended and constructed for use as a clothes hamper in hospitals and nursing homes. Very similar in concept and structural makeup to the Bag Carrier of U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,932, the two "rectangular sub-frames" 20 and 22 are differently constructed as to both size and details of shape. Again, a lower tray 14 is included for supporting the clothesbag 18 and a cover 16 is required to be pivotally attached to the top. This combination results in a unit for a different purpose, more complex and more expensive than is the present invention, as well as not having utility for the limb bundling purpose, a primary feature of my invention.
Other patents, not nearly so pertinent as those discussed above, are identified for informational purposes. A "Device for Holding and Bundling Newspapers" is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,714. U.S. Pat. No. 385,126 is directed to a Fodder Binder and U.S. Pat. No. 566,333 describes a Corn Fodder Binder.
None of the foregoing art is comprehensive in providing the beneficial teachings of the present invention.